Friday, July 15, 2011

Facebook as research tool

My last several writing projects (namely a book and an expansive online feature that I will launch imminently) have involved extensive interviewing. When I’m looking for someone contemporary, the first place I now look is Facebook.

As recently as 2007, the thought of going to a social media site to locate (or at least narrow down) someone didn’t occur to me. But it was ultimately MySpace (you remember, yes?) which led me to the biggest find of my professional career.

Facebook is good for triangulating. If you know a person’s city, or you’ve used public records sites to learn the names of a person’s relatives, Facebook can help you line up a likely group to contact. Or if the person you’re searching for has an unusual name, Facebook can be a godsend.

If you don’t have any of that information, you can still slog it out on Facebook, individually contacting every “John Smith” with the hope that one is paydirt.

However, ironic though it may be for a company that is regularly challenged for privacy violations, Facebook is vigilant about spam control. I learned this the annoying way.

I was in search of a person. Let’s call him, well, John Smith. I began contacting every John Smith on Facebook, copying and pasting the same query for each. It couldn’t have been more than 10 when Facebook threw up a red box warning me that I may be in violation of Facebook policy. It went on to explain that I was sending messages too fast and if I continued, I would be blocked from sending messages for anywhere from a few hours to a few days.

Yet I’d already been blocked. And it was indeed about a day before I could send any messages again through Facebook.

Spam is broadly defined as unwanted contact, but I feel elemental to spam is the idea that someone is trying to sell you something (even if it’s just selling you on the decision to click a link).

But what I was doing was research. It may be intrusive in the sense that it’s just as unsolicited as a sales pitch, but it’s not a blanket approach, targeting whoever’s attention I can grab. I am approaching select people—and among them may be the only people who would have certain information.

In the greater interest of “getting the story” for the public to benefit from, do writers have a right to ask anyone anything anytime they want by any means necessary?

Should Facebook have a system by which professional writers and researchers can register and then use the message function without restriction?

* Fairy Spell: How Two Girls Convinced the World That Fairies Are Real (nonfiction picture book about the two girls in WWI England took photos of what they claimed were real fairies); illustrated by Eliza Wheeler; Clarion (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

* Thirty Minutes Over Oregon: A Japanese Pilot's World War II Story (nonfiction picture book about the unprecedented accomplishment—and redemption—of the first person to bomb the U.S. mainland from a plane); illustrated by Melissa Iwai; Clarion (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

“[N]o library in the world could object to the book’s style and panache. [T]his is one biography that’s going to lure the kids like nothing else. More fun than any children’s biography has any right to be”—Fuse #8 (School Library Journal; four out of five stars)

“Fascinating”—Horn Book

“Sure to become a classic example of the genre”—Families Online

“Wonderful…young readers…will find this…title appealing and thereby ensure that future generations recall the amazing story behind Superman’s creation as well. Wait, did I say ‘recall’? Strike that—make it ‘will be inspired by’ instead. This book is that good”—Firefox News

“[T]ouching... The illustrated section...is upbeat, entertaining, and informative...the [well-crafted] afterword shows the shadow side of the great American dream. ...Nobleman is equally adept at both stories”—Boston Globe

“Surprisingly poignant”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Haunting”—Geek Monthly

“Excellent”—GeekDad (WIRED)

“A-minus”—A.V. Club

“The best and most accurate depiction of their lives in print”—Brad Ricca, documentary filmmaker, Last Son, and later author of Super Boys

“Engrossing...wonderful”—Scripps Howard News Service

“I was completely mesmerized by this book from the first instant I opened it. I loved every page, and every word. Boys of Steel transported me; it made me feel young; it moved me to tears. Honest to God, it did! It caused my black heart to melt. The book is absolutely fantastic, the book is tremendous, the book is a huge achievement”—Robby Reed, DIAL B for BLOG

"Sometimes the most inconsequential episodes in larger stories can turn out to be the most moving, and so it is with Thirty Minutes Over Oregon … a thought-provoking meditation on the power of forgiveness"

—New York Times Book Review

"Engrossing and unexpectedly touching … lovely story of reconciliation"

—Wall Street Journal

"Powerful and poignant...a must-read"

—Kirkus Reviews

"Such a cool story...remarkable... We...need this book right now"

—Fuse #8 (School Library Journal)

"Nobleman knows just the right tone to strike with this story, and he unfolds its events with a storyteller's flair. … There are several lessons here, organically made, and kids who come for the wartime action will be pulled along to the book's ultimately pacific message"

—Horn Book

"An important and breathtaking book"

—Colby Sharp book talk video

"Clearly written...moving... This quiet story is less about war than the toll it takes on those who fight, the possibility of reconciliation, and the value of understanding other cultures. A war story with a heartening conclusion"

—Booklist

"Respectful and balanced"

—Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books

"This is a remarkable story...a story to be remembered, forever. You will be moved"

Praise for "Fairy Spell"

"A rich overview of this bizarre historical controversy… deftly navigates topics like childhood in the early 20th century, the media and the influence of celebrity culture, and the history of photography … a strong nonfiction choice"

—School Library Journal

"With a crisp and engaging style, Nobleman relates this fascinating story… Young readers are bound to be intrigued"

—Horn Book

"Engaging ... A fascinating introduction to one of the greatest hoaxes of all time, deftly pitched to elementary-age children"

—Kirkus Reviews

"Will leave children guessing until the end"

—Publishers Weekly

"A seamless blend of both frolics and facts fuels suspense ... part accidental trickster tale, part unforgettable fairy tale, all true, this will have kids reaching for cameras of their own in no time"

—Booklist

Praise for "Brave Like My Brother"

Honors:

A Junior Library Guild Selection

Other coverage:

"History lovers will find a lot of new information here…Nobleman keeps the suspense tight"—Horn Book

"Always steers clear of melodrama. A good option"—Booklist

"Thoroughly engaging on every account...excels in every regard"—Times Herald (MI)

"A lovely read and a glimpse into the bond between brothers through an exchange of letters. Grab a tissue for the ending"—Lindsey Anderson, Good Reads

"A gentle introduction to WWII although it does pack a bit of an emotional wallop"—Barbara, Good Reads